StarCraft: IncGamers reports the e-Sport country of the world is electronically rioting over the biggest scandal in the history of gaming.
It might seem almost silly to be so upset about a betting on games that takes place on a computer, but gaming in general – and StarCraft in particular – is the South Koreans’ answer to our sport culture in the West and illegal betting with teams throwing games is like toying with the very fabric of what makes up the average Korean.
In the last few days, a massive and widespread systematic betting scandal has been revealed. It’s so wide it includes famous pro-gamer coaches and players of renown names. The eSports organizers are also accused of knowing all about it, too, and tried to rectify the issue themselves by co-existing with the illegal betting sites.
It is believed to have started in 2006 and peaked in 2008, but not revealed until now.
The dirty teams are purging themselves by naming names. Some of the most serious offenders are being forced to retire. Americans eSport fans are drawing parallels to the massive Black Sox Scandal back in 1919.
On a possibly unrelated topic, one of the prime figures of e-Sport, Lim Yo-Hwan (also known as Boxer) has announced that he is marrying his long time girlfriend Kim Ga-Yeon. It’s argued by a lot of Koreans that he has done this as a “sacrificial” move to quell some of the scandal uproar across the country.
Koreans are going berserk on electronic forums all over the country, but we would not put it beyond people to actually hit the streets forthis sort of revelation. Details are still being revealed, but we hope this isn’t something the country ends up in a physical uproar rather than just an electronic outcry.
Published: Apr 13, 2010 01:05 pm